HiFi Thoughts
How Big Is the High-End Hifi Market?
I bet we’ve all seen people guessing this number along with forecasts of doom and gloom for the industry at large. Are they right?
Month: June 2026
#NewMusicFriday
#NewMusicFriday: June 26, 2026
Each Friday, Stephen Mejias, AudioQuest’s Director of Communications and former Stereophile and Audiostream columnist, will browse through the many exciting albums released that day and select 15 worth a closer listen.
Album of the Week
Album of the Week: Almost Waking by Bill Orcutt & Mabe Fratti
It began with admiration.
HiFi Reviews
Review: Dynaudio Confidence 60 Loudspeakers
Imagine a big speaker that doesn’t behave like a big speaker.
In Barn for Review
In Barn for Review: Peak Consult Sinfonia Loudspeakers
Denmark’s Peak Consult is owned by Lennart Asbjørn and Wilfried Ehrenholz who was an owner and co-founder of Dynaudio.
Classic Albums
Classic Albums: World Gone Wrong by Bob Dylan
Dylan’s 29th studio album, World Gone Wrong was released in 1993 and finds Bob in his home/garage studio with an acoustic guitar and harmonica covering a collection of classic American folk/blues songs and as David Bowie said:
#NewMusicFriday
#NewMusicFriday: June 19, 2026
Each Friday, Stephen Mejias, AudioQuest’s Director of Communications and former Stereophile and Audiostream columnist, will browse through the many exciting albums released that day and select 15 worth a closer listen.
Album of the Week
Album of the Week: Abizzmo by ANSIEDAD1000
Animal Collective’s Panda Bear is my favorite solo Animal but both the band and the Bear remind me of, among other things, the Beach Boys. Mexico’s Tony Gallardo’s Abizzmo, his first album as ANSIEDAD1000, reminds me of all three albeit farther out.
Analog Reviews
In Barn for Good: Aurorasound AFE-12 MC Step Up Transformer
Sometimes I mix business with pleasure.
HiFi News
Weiss Engineering Releases the New Improved DAC204-MK2
The original Weiss DAC204 was praised by many including me:
In Barn for Review
In Barn for Follow-Up: Imersiv UTB – Universal Transformer Interface
I reviewed the shockingly good Imersiv D-1 DAC back in March and had this to say:
Classic Albums
Classic Albums: The Blossom Filled Streets by Movietone
I like to imagine music, all recorded music, being as vast as the Atlantic.
#NewMusicFriday
#NewMusicFriday: June 12, 2026
Each Friday, Stephen Mejias, AudioQuest’s Director of Communications and former Stereophile and Audiostream columnist, will browse through the many exciting albums released that day and select 15 worth a closer listen.
Album of the Week
Album of the Week: Solstice by A.A. Williams
I’ve always been genre fluid.
Amplifier Reviews
Review: Devialet Astra Opéra de Paris Integrated Amplifier System
When it comes to hifi, can we really have it all—looks, style, substance, and great sound? This is one question the Devialet Astra Opéra de Paris Edition raises and my answer, after having lived with one, is a very confident hell ya!